“Moon Knight” Star May Calamawy to Join MCU Cast in “Gladiator 2” while Villain Recasting Causes Delays

For almost all roles in “Gladiator 2”, Ridley Scott is said to have known directly who he wanted to cast and asked stars like Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Djimon Hounsou and returnee Connie Nielsen directly. There should have been intensive casting for the two main roles. After “Aftersun” star Paul Mescal follows in Russell Crowe’s footsteps as the new title hero, the main actress has now also been found.

“Moon Knight”-Star May Calamawy in “Gladiator 2”

Like the industry magazine Deadline reported, could after several casting rounds May Calamawy push through. The Egyptian-Palestinian actress got her big break with the Marvel series Moon Knight, where she enthralled as Layla El-Faouly.

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More cast additions – with a return from “Gladiator”

Reported with her Deadline a few more names. In supporting roles should also Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Peter Mensah and Matt Lucas contribute.

Jacobi is another returnee. In „Gladiator“ he was already on board as Senator Gracchus and is likely to take on this role again. Peter Mensah also brings a wealth of genre experience to the table. In the TV series “Spartacus” he embodied the gladiator trainer Drago. It is unknown which roles he, the Israeli actor and author Lior Raz behind the Netflix series “Fauda” and the British comedian Matt Lucas (“Little Britain”) will play.

For a very important role, however, Ridley Scott has to look for a replacement at very short notice, but seems to have his sights set on him. The villain needs to be recast.

“White Lotus” star instead of Barry Keoghan as Emperor Geta?

Actually, Barry Keoghan, known from the Marvel film “The Eternals” and most recently Oscar-nominated for “The Banshees of Inisherin”, was supposed to take on the role of the Roman Emperor Geta, who is the big baddie in the film. Keoghan, who plays the Joker in the new The Batman films, would have followed in the footsteps of Joker star Joaquin Phoenix. But maybe the DC role is to blame for the fact that it doesn’t come to that.

Deadline now explains that negotiations could not be brought to a conclusion because a scheduling conflict ultimately forced Keoghan to cancel. “The Batman 2” is scheduled to be shot this year and Keoghan should already be under contract for this after his appearance at the end of the predecessor. It is possible that the two large-scale productions could not be reconciled.

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Ridley Scott already has his sights set on a successor. Loud Deadline are already negotiating with Fred Hechinger guided. The actor is best known for the series “The White Lotus”, but has recently also appeared on Disney+ in “Pam & Tommy” and on Netflix, among others, in the “Fear Street” trilogy, “The Woman In The Window” and “Der Memorable Case of Mr. Poe”. In cinemas, he will soon be present in the Marvel film “Kraven The Hunter”.

„Gladiator 2‘ is scheduled to hit theaters around the world at the end of November 2024. A specific date has not yet been announced for Germany, but we currently expect November 23, 2024.

Hardly anyone knows the historical epic: The first film by Bud Spencer & Terence Hill is now available as a streaming subscription